Surgical and hardware complications in subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation

Objective: To assess the surgical and hardware complications in 26 consecutive patients with movement disorders undergoing subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) in early practice at our institute. Methods: The 26 patients in our institute were analyzed retrospectively. Group A included the first eight patients treated while we had no facility for microelectrode recording (MER), 16 intracranial procedures were performed and 8 batteries were implanted. Group B (with MER) included 18 patients, 35 intracranial procedures were performed and 18 batteries were implanted. Results: The intracranial morbidity was 18.75% in group A and 5.71% in group B. The extracranial morbidity was 37.5% in group A and 16.67% in group B. There was no hardware-related infection in our study. The overall mortality rate was 7.69%, and deaths were not surgical related. Conclusions: The associated morbidity is significant in STN-DBS. The use of MER may improve the clinical outcome while decreasing the morbidity.